Christmas in April ???

[max13077]

justusnak,

Do you give it dormant periods? I had a old plant when I was living at home, I can't even remember what it was called; very pretty though. Mom and Dad had our kitchen redone and through the shuffle of moving things out to make room for the contractor, my plant was set outside in the garage. It was late fall when they got done and it had lasted a couple of months. When I found it all the leaves had fallen off and it was just a bunch of bare stalks. I brought it back inside, watered it, and hung it in its usual spot. About a week went by before anything happened.

Then it began to leaf out. Down towards the base I noticed a small red flower. The next day another, and another. You get the picture. I think for all those years I had it, it just never thought summer ended or whatever so it never flowered.

Just a thought.

 

[mamaboyd]

My poinsetta plant that didn't flower over the Christmas holidays, is flowering now!

 

[silkiechicken]

Mine flowered twice too. Once in nov and once just a bit ago... thing is... it really is Christmas in April here... there's now about 8 inches of snow outside and still falling.... Very odd for this area.. more snow than there was all of winter combined!

 

[justusnak]

Hmmmm, dormant...maybe that whay its not blooming. I have it in the family room, in the basement. Maybe it dormant all along? I think I will move it up to the kitchen...or living room, where its warmer and more sun.

 

[BettyR]

Christmas cactus bloom according to the number of hours of light and dark they receive.

You can make them bloom anytime you want them to by simulating the proper number of light to dark hours that they get.

It’s sort of like chickens, if you want them to continue laying through the winter then you will need to make sure that they get 12 hours of “daylight” when the days start to shorten or they will cut back on their laying according to the number of hours of daylight they get.

 

[NoelTate]

Mine bloom 2-4 times each year. It depends on the amount of daylight, the temperature, and the amount of water the receive (mostly the light). Mine stay on the front porch all year except nights that it freezes, and then they come inside. I figure the extra blooms are just a little present from God

 

[MissPrissy]

I have done nothing different. It is 3 yrs old and finally bloomed at Christmas. Now it is blooming again. I have kept it in the same place since I got it. I have neither tried nor not tried to force it to bloom. It just surprised me one day to see the bloom buds on it again so soon.

 

[DuckLady]

I have Christmas cactus the was in bloom when my husband gave it to me for our anniversary in November 2006. Just in the last month it has been blooming continuously. Silly cactus.

 

[BettyR]

http://www.humeseeds.com/xmasccts.htm



Actually the key to getting Christmas cactus to flower during the holiday season, is the proper light exposure, correct temperatures and limited watering. So during the fall months, the Christmas cactus should be placed in a spot where it receives indoor indirect bright light during the daylight hours but total darkness at night. (Much the same exposure you would give a poinsettia except a Christmas poinsettia requires warm temperatures whereas the Christmas cactus needs a spot where the temperatures are cool during the fall months.)

 

[Cheryl]

My poinsettia is now in red! This is from the Christmas before last...it has been green since it's origional color...go figure! I know it has something to do with light, but I don't have a clue!